Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) Practice Exam

What is the convoluting of code to such a degree that even if the source code is obtained, it is not easily decipherable?

1. Authentication

2. Authorization

3. Masking

4. Obfuscation

The correct answer is: Obfuscation

The process described in the question refers to obfuscation. Obfuscation is specifically designed to make code difficult to understand or interpret, even if someone has access to the source code. This is often done to protect intellectual property, sensitive algorithms, or to mitigate risks associated with reverse engineering. By transforming the code into a format that is challenging for humans to read while still being executable by machines, developers can safeguard their applications against potential security threats. In contrast, authentication and authorization are related to security measures for verifying user identities and granting permissions, respectively. Masking typically refers to hiding specific data values in a dataset, while still allowing for the dataset's structure to be intact. These terms deal with different aspects of security and data protection, whereas obfuscation directly addresses the difficulty of interpreting code.